Six degrees
by reckless-rage
Summary: Six degrees of separation. Natsume is more involved with spirits than he likes to believe he is, but it isn't always for the worse. A series of random, one-shot drabbles in the Natsume Yuujinchou fandom - each chapter will have its own individual rating.
1. Introduction

**Title:** First meetings  
><strong>Rating:<strong> G  
><strong>PairingCharacter/s: **Natsume, Nyanko-sensei  
><strong>Summary: <strong>Natsume meets new spirits every day, and each encounter gives him a chance to pass on the kindness he had been shown by others.  
><strong>Prompt: <strong>1. Introduction  
><strong>AN: **Prompt 1 out of 100 which I snagged off a random google search result. 'Introduction' just seemed to lend itself to the Natsume fandom very well (okay if I must confess, everything lends to the Natsume fandom quite well). Shamelessly stole themes and stuff from the show and all. Since I'm writing drabbles more to keep writing than anything else, I've barely proof-read/edited/tried to make it interesting. Each drabble won't relate to the next, so it'll be all very random and confusing. C: Isn't that great? (And no I didn't write Natsume for all the prompts, so expect to see quite a few skips.) I am also not responsible for possible spoilers although I'll try to ring a reminder if I think of any. This A/N is far too long.

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><p>There isn't a day where a new spirit doesn't seek out Natsume, usually for one of two reasons: to ask for their name back, or to try stealing the Book of Friends from him. Thankfully enough, the latter doesn't happen all too often, and when it does, Nyanko-sensei manages to dispose of the offending spirit without much difficulty.<p>

Then of course, there are the times where Natsume is the one who seeks out the spirits. Or sometimes he just sees them in trouble on his way to school, or home, and he doesn't realize that they're not ordinary humans. He involves himself with the spirits because he can't tell them apart all the time, and this exasperates Nyanko to no end.

"How many times do I have to tell you to leave them alone?" Nyanko berates when Natsume makes a detour after school to see off a small woodland sprite who had its protective leaf torn and needed mending. "No good will come of helping these weaklings."

"Nyanko-sensei, that's not a very nice thing to say," Natsume scolds. "The poor thing only needed a mended leaf so it could get home."

"Hmph." Nyanko backs up a few paces before bouncing up to the boy's shoulder, settling his bulk in as comfortably as he can. "You're as soft-hearted as ever, Natsume. It'll be the end of you one day. Well, I shouldn't complain, seeing as I'll get the Book of Friends then."

"Until then, don't forget that you're meant to be my bodyguard," Natsume reminds him, an almost automatic response by now every time he hears Nyanko-sensei mention taking the Book of Friends.

"Don't you ever get sick of having to help all those weak spirits?" Nyanko's eyes slit ever so slightly as Natsume starts heading for home. "It would be much easier if you would just ignore them."

"You know I can't do that," Natsume says. "They're not much different from people for me, and not all of them are bad spirits. I've even made some friends, you know."

Yes, he thinks briefly, he has made friends amongst the spirits, something that has ceased to surprise him by now. In the midst of the crowd that comes and goes in his life, he had been touched by the kindness of many and the loyalty of some, even without their names in the Book of Friends. They are almost like a second family to him, along with the Fujiwaras who had also shown him the same kindness and warmth.

Now, Natsume no longer dreads seeing what others couldn't see. Instead of treating them like an unwanted addition to his life, he sees them as new meetings and the chance to pass on the kindness he had been given.

And perhaps, he hopes, one day he would be able to help them like he had been helped.


	2. Seeking Solace

**Title:** Where I Find Peace  
><strong>Rating:<strong> G  
><strong>PairingCharacter/s:**Natsume, Hinoe, middle-class spirits!  
><strong>Summary: <strong>Even though Natsume doesn't realize it, he's able to find solace in the company of spirits.  
><strong>Prompt: <strong>5. Seeking Solace  
><strong>AN: **I love any episodes in which spirits (such as Hinoe and Misuzu) flock to help Natsume when he's in trouble. I think it really shows just how well loved he is, and how much I feel that the spirits care for him in their own way.

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><p>"Natsume!" Hinoe blinked in surprise at the sight of the youth sitting with his back against a tree, knees drawn up to his chest and his chin propped on them, looking decidedly dejected. "You look like Madara when someone's taken his sweet bun away from him. No, wait, I take that back. Madara would have eaten them alive."<p>

That elicited a wan smile from the fair-haired youth, as she had hoped it would.

"In any case, what are you doing here?" She said. Pulling out her slender pipe and drawing on it, she sat next to him. "Usually you're running about on some business or other to do with rescuing poor hapless spirits."

"Mmm," Natsume said non-committedly. "I…needed some time to myself."

To this, Hinoe said nothing, merely observed Natsume's hunched shoulders and lowered gaze. If he wasn't about to elaborate, she didn't have the right to pry, she decided. Judging by his body language, though…

"Natsume-dono! _Natsume-dono_!"

Hinoe tsk'ed when the two middle-class spirits crashed into the clearing, still carrying around that ridiculous 'support Natsume' banner on their shoulders. These spirits had no sense of tact or how to read the atmosphere, she thought crossly.

"Hey," Natsume mustered up a smile for them as they skidded to a stop before him. "What's wrong?"

"We heard that you were in the area, so we came by!"

"We wanted to see Natsume-dono!"

"How is Natsume-dono?"

"Is Natsume-dono eating well?"

Hinoe scowled, thinking that she was going to pull them aside and hiss at them to go away and leave Natsume alone before they could bother him with more pointless questions. Before she could do so, however, she noticed that the youth seemed to have cheered up somewhat. The colour was back in his face, and he seemed less miserable than he was earlier.

Maybe he was starting to accept them a little more, Hinoe thought with a smile. She didn't know what had happened to put that look on his face, but it looked like he was beginning to pull out of it thanks to the middle-class spirits' energetic questions and mildly infectious happiness at seeing Natsume. Maybe she wouldn't chase away the spirits now, not when they seemed to be doing Natsume some good for once.

"It wouldn't hurt for you to come to us when you're hurt by humans, you know," she murmured to no one in particular, her voice too soft for anyone to hear. "We'll be your solace when you can't find it anywhere else."

And the strange thing was, she truly meant this.


	3. Questioning

**Title:** Marks of Servitude  
><strong>Rating:<strong> PG+ because I wanted it more than PG and less than M  
><strong>PairingCharacter/s:** Natsume, Matoba  
><strong>Summary: <strong>In which Matoba tries to figure out why Natsume can care for ayakashi as much as he does. Spirits are for convenience, not befriending, as far as Matoba is concerned.  
><strong>Prompt: <strong>16. Questioning  
><strong>AN:** Natsume is the best character to write into any scenario, I reckon. Thank you for reviews so far, and even though it's Valentine's already where I am, sad to say this drabble isn't exactly the fluffiest of drabbles. :c (Natsume Shi's latest episode was beautiful, though.)

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><p>"So, Natsume-kun, when are you going to tell me why you care for the ayakashi so much?"<p>

Natsume's wrists are bound behind him, his legs secured to the chair he found himself in when he regained consciousness.

He has no intention of humouring Matoba with a reply.

Matoba waits for a moment, then his gaze trails from Natsume's determined frown to his school bag, lying on the table just to the side. The bag flap is open, the contents bare for all to see, but Natsume knows that there is nothing inside except for his text books.

Thank god Madara had been able to flee the scene, although it had taken several screams and threats from Natsume before the spirit had been forced to comply, more out of necessity to keep the Book of Friends from falling into Matoba's hands than anything else.

"I wonder how long it'll be before your precious guardian shows up to reclaim you," Matoba remarks in amusement. "It won't find it easy to break free from the seals around my area."

"He'll break them," Natsume says defiantly. "Nyanko-sensei is stronger than your stupid seals. And he's not an _it._"

"You place a great deal of faith in it, Natsume-kun." Matoba stands before the boy and tilts his face up forcibly. Natsume has beautifully pale skin, he observes, and which would no doubt be prone to bruising easily. The boy's eyes are fierce, showing no sign of compliance in the slightest. "And as usual, you pique my interest – why does this ayakashi care for you so much? Are you valuable to it?" His eyes narrow in thoughtful speculation. "The two of you share a…very unique connection. I would very much like to know what it is."

When Natsume says nothing, Matoba leans down and places his mouth close to Natsume's ear. "If you won't tell me, I'll have to pry it out of you."

His smile transforms from gentle to sly. Oh yes, he thinks to himself, he is going to find out if Natsume's skin bruises as easily as it looks.


	4. Mother Nature

**Title:** Shelter  
><strong>Rating:<strong> G  
><strong>PairingCharacter/s: **Natsume, Nyanko/Madara  
><strong>Summary: <strong>After fleeing from a vengeful spirit, Natsume finds himself lost in the forest, caught out in the middle of a thunderstorm.  
><strong>Prompt: <strong>22. Mother Nature  
><strong>AN: **Thanks to Aeth for helping me with the prompt. C: Uni started again today.

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><p>Natsume's foot slipped on a particularly slippery patch of earth, and he went down in a <em>foomph, <em>not even given enough time to shout out in surprise as he hit the ground hard. The breath left his lungs in a shocked gasp even as he tumbled down the slope, accidentally biting his lip when he hit a tree which abruptly stopped his fall albeit in a fairly painful manner.

"Oi! Natsume! Where are you?"

That was Nyanko-sensei's voice…wincing, Natsume sat up, feeling his head spin. He took several deep breaths before he got to his feet, his legs wobbling and aching from the long run earlier.

"Nyanko-sensei!" He called out, hearing his voice bounce through the forest. He waited – a heartbeat, two heartbeats – and then the manekineko bounced out from the foliage, looking cross and concerned at the same time.

"You fool!" He launched himself at Natsume's head, and because the boy was so tired from running Nyanko managed to land squarely in his face. Both of them crashed to the forest floor, Nyanko threading all over his face before he decided to settle down on Natsume's stomach. "You should have just let me take care of that impudent spirit before haring off like a deer."

"Sorry," Natsume didn't think he could get up with Nyanko sitting on his stomach. "I need to get home, or Touko-san is going to worry."

"Too late for that," Nyanko said, his eyes slitting. "The storm's already rolling in – you won't be able to find your way in the forest."

Nyanko was right, Natsume realized. The manekineko had barely finished his sentence before an ear-splitting crack sounded in the sky. Natsume jumped; a moment later, rain poured down, set to soak him to the skin within seconds if he didn't find some form of shelter fast.

There was a puff of white smoke and the next thing Natsume knew, he was surrounded by soft, white fur, sheltered from the thundering rain and warmed by Madara's body heat.

"You'll just have to think up an excuse for the human woman later," Madara grumbled, settling down against the rain. "If I try to fly you home in this weather you'll just be roasted by the lightning, and that would be bothersome."

Natsume hesitated for a moment.

"Do you still have the Book of Friends?"

He touched the pouch around his waist. "Yeah, it's still here."

"Good," Madara sniffed. "At least you held on to it."

Natsume smiled, and then snuggled into Madara's fur, deciding that waiting out the storm was the best thing to do for the time being. When he reached home, he would apologize to Touko-san, and promise not to stay out too late again…

Madara could feel the moment when Natsume fell asleep, his breathing evening and deepening as he relaxed. The stupid human, he thought to himself, but the thought held a note of sentiment in it. He settled down as comfortably as he could, made sure that Natsume was shielded from the rain, and closed his eyes, his ears still pricked for any unusual sounds in the torrent of rain. When they got home, he was going to make Natsume pick out all the dead leaves from his magnificent white fur.


	5. Under the Rain

**Title:** Only One  
><strong>Rating:<strong> PG  
><strong>PairingCharacter/s:**Natsume, Tanuma, Taki  
><strong>Summary: <strong>Natsume is offered an umbrella but refuses because it is Taki's only umbrella.  
><strong>Prompt: <strong>30. Under the rain  
><strong>AN: **Episode 6 of Natsume fourth season was adorable. :D Also the summary has pretty much very little to do with the actual (pointless) drabble.

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><p><em>It looks like it's going to rain, <em>Natsume thinks to himself as he looks out of the window at the stormy, grey skies. _I wonder if the Book of Friends will be all right if I get caught in the rain. _He has wrapped the Book with his spare shirt and stowed it away as far into his bag as he can shove it, but he does not want to risk damaging the Book in any way. Class is ending in ten minutes, but looking at the heavy clouds gathering out there, he is not sure if he'll make it back home in time to avoid being soaked.

He wishes he hadn't forgotten to bring along his umbrella. He sighs and props his chin on the palm of his hand, elbow braced against his desk. Maybe if he hurries home after class, he would actually manage to make it home before it begins to pour -

His hopes are dashed when lightning flashes across the sky, closely followed by a startling clap of thunder that elicits small shrieks from some of his female classmates.

_Darn, _he thinks.

It is only raining lightly by the time class lets out – drizzling, really. Natsume gives the sky a look, judges the rain to be inconsequential enough to make a dash home –

"Natsume-kun?"

Taki comes up behind him just as he is about to leave the school building regardless of his lack of umbrellas. She is holding her own umbrella in one hand, and when she approaches Natsume, she tilts her head quizzically. "Don't you have an umbrella?"

"Ah…I left mine at home," Natsume replies truthfully. "It isn't raining too hard now, so I think I'll be able to make it home in time, though."

"That's not good," Taki frowns at him. "What if you catch a cold? Touko-san will worry so much about you! Come on, you can use my umbrella."

"But we live in different directions," Natsume blinks.

"How about I walk you to your house before heading home?" Taki suggests, snapping out her brightly yellow umbrella. "That way, neither of us will be caught in the rain."

Natsume hesitates. He sees spirits most often when he is walking to and from school, which is why he usually declines any offer to walk home together. He does not want his ordinary classmates to get caught up in strange situations, because he cannot protect them on his own and would never forgive himself if something terrible happens.

"Sorry!" He makes an apologetic gesture. "Thanks, but maybe another day."

He dashes out of the school building before Taki can voice a protest. It's okay if he gets caught in the rain, he thinks. It's unlikely that he'll fall sick from just this drizzle, after all.

He is halfway home when the drizzle decides to pour on the rain. All of a sudden, the light rain increases and the wind picks up, catching Natsume's scarf and whipping it around. Wincing, he decides that it might be better to take shelter under the bus stop and wait for it to pass –

"Natsume, why don't you have an umbrella with you?"

This time it is Tanuma who approaches him, giving him a puzzled look…and umbrella-less as well.

"I could say the same for you," Natsume replies wryly. "You're already soaked to the skin."

Tanuma looks supremely unconcerned despite rain dripping down his face and seeping into his clothing. "Nah, my old man won't care. He's used to it." He joins Natsume under the bus stop, thinking that with the shrill wind blowing around and rain lashing every other way, the bus stop shelter is fairly inefficient at keeping them dry – well, keeping Natsume dry, since Tanuma is wet enough as it is. "Touko-san is going to worry if she realizes you've forgotten your umbrella."

Natsume sighs. "I know. I hope she doesn't find out. I'm always causing problems for her and Shigeru-san."

"I doubt they see it that way," Tanuma just cannot see Natsume as a problem child, other than potential trouble with restless spirits and even then it isn't Natsume's fault anyway. "It doesn't look like the rain is going to let up soon, though."

Natsume frowns as he squints up at the sky.

Tanuma slides a glance sideways at Natsume, but quickly averts his gaze when Natsume turns to look at him.

"I think I will run home after all," he says, "but what about you, Tanuma? You don't have an umbrella either, and your home is even further than mine."

"It's okay," Tanuma assures him. "I'm already soaked so it won't make a difference."

"But-" Natsume is about to protest, then changes tack. "How about staying at my place until the worst of the storm passes? I'm sure Touko-san wouldn't mind, and besides, you can help me study for the maths test tomorrow."

"Ah-" An afternoon with Natsume sounds perfectly delightful, even though he refuses to say that directly to the person himself. "I guess it'll be all right. Sure."

Natsume's lips curve in a genuine smile. "We'll have to make a dash home then. Shall we run?"


	6. Flowers

**Title:** Hanakotoba  
><strong>Rating:<strong> G  
><strong>PairingCharacter/s: **Natsume, Nyanko  
><strong>Summary: <strong>Spirits like giving presents too.  
><strong>Prompt: <strong>31. Flowers  
><strong>AN: **Hanakotoba – 'kind/gentle'. No, I don't have an exam this Saturday. No, I did not completely forget about this. And yes...I'm studying. ...right?

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><p>"Natsume…you're drooling again."<p>

Natsume jerks upright in his seat, his hand going to his mouth in embarrassment at having been caught napping in class again, but Kitamoto smacks Nishimura over the head reprovingly.

"Don't tease Natsume like that," he scolds, and Nishimura makes a face at him. "Natsume, you look like you didn't get much sleep at all."

"Uh – no," Natsume thinks that mentioning the creepy face plastered on his ceiling all night would not be an entirely wise move on his part. "It's fine."

The statement slips out almost automatically, since he is so used to saying it by now to deter further questions that he does not feel up to answering. He misses the small glance exchanged between Nishimura and Kitamoto, mostly because he has closed his eyes again with a yawn.

Maybe if he keeps his head down in the next period, he would be able to catch some sleep.

After class, he is woken up by Kitamoto, who looks rather apologetic as he shakes Natsume's shoulder. "Want to grab some lunch?" he asks, holding up a bento box. "You look like you could use the energy."

Natsume blinks sleepily. He has been dreaming that Nyanko-sensei is eating Tohko-san and Shigeru-san out of house and home, and it had not been a pleasant dream at all.

"Oh…sure," he says after a belated pause in response to Kitamoto's offer of lunch. He reaches into his bag to pull out his lunch –

- and his fingers brush against something soft and foreign.

He withdraws his hand with a yelp. Surprised, Kitamoto and Nishimura gives him a puzzled look.

"Natsume? What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing," Natsume says hurriedly. Cautiously, but not wanting to appear overly strange to his classmates, he peers into his bag again, wondering what the heck he had just touched. He grabs hold of his lunch box and pulls it out…along with several stalks of wildflowers, now sadly crushed by his lunch box squashing them.

Wildflowers?

Why does he have wildflowers in his bag?

Before he can check to see if the wildflowers are suspicious, he hears his name being called, and he stands to join the others to have lunch outside under the sun. The wildflowers lie in his bag, innocently bright and cheerful, the petals coming off one by one.

When Natsume returns to his desk, he furtively checks his bag just in case something else has managed to find its way in there in the period of his absence. Thankfully enough, all he can find are the wildflowers – although being uncertain on how the wildflowers have gotten into his bag in the first place, he isn't sure if he should be relieved about that.

He dozes off again in the next class, and when he wakes up he finds that fresh wildflowers have been scattered across his desk, in his hair, and on the floor around him.

He leaps up with a yell, startling the entire class when he shoves his chair backwards and away from his desk, scattering petals everywhere.

"Natsume-kun?" The teacher turns to look at him disapprovingly. "Were you sleeping in class ag – my goodness! Why is your area littered with flowers? Where did they come from all of a sudden?"

"You can see these?" Natsume looks at the wildflowers. So maybe they weren't from spirits…no, there is no way these flowers could have just been tossed on him in the middle of class without anyone noticing. "Excuse me, I don't feel well. I'd like to go home early, please."

He utters the half-truth easily, and grabs his bag before the teacher has a chance to protest. As he leaves the classroom, he brushes the wildflowers from his clothes and hair, as if afraid they would sprout into spirits ready to snatch him away.

It isn't until he is at the bridge on the way home that he feels the familiar sensation of a spirit approaching him rapidly. He turns around and raises his arms defensively, ready to fight if he has to –

He is taken aback when he finds more wildflowers being thrust into his face, whole bunches of it, and he wraps his arms around them purely out of reflex to stop them from spilling down the front of his shirt and all over the ground.

"Natsume-dono!" A squeaky voice says, seemingly out of thin air. "Natsume-dono, are the flowers to your liking?"

_Where is the voice coming from? _Try as he might, Natsume cannot really see any sign of a spirit, even though he can feel its presence clearly enough.

"Um…the flowers are lovely," he replies, feeling a little awkward talking to thin air – is this how others see him? Natsume the liar, talking to the air like there was a person there he could see and no one else could. "But if I may ask…who are you? Why are you giving me flowers?"

The air before him shimmers; once, twice, and all of a sudden, a young girl no larger than one of Nyanko's sake bottles stands before him, a shyly nervous expression on her face.

"Natsume-dono may not remember, but he cleaned my shrine and offered something," the spirit says, "so I thought to repay the favour. Did I do wrong?" she asks anxiously, almost as an afterthought. "My only power is to bloom the flowers near my shrine, so - "

"The flowers are lovely," Natsume says again, this time his voice softening. He remembers the shrine she had mentioned, remembers thinking that it is a shame that hardly anyone seems to visit the place. "Thank you very much."

The spirit gives a _ping _of pleasure and dissipates before Natsume can request for her to stop showering him in flowers. He swallows back a sigh and resumes his walk home – at least, he thinks, he will be able to give the wildflowers to Tohko-san.

The following morning, when he wakes, he finds a single, beautiful cherry blossom on his pillow.


	7. Hold My Hand

**Title:** Hold My Hand  
><strong>Rating:<strong> G  
><strong>PairingCharacter/s:**Natsume, Nyanko/Madara  
><strong>Summary:<strong>Humans were weak, meddlesome and insignificant creatures – yet Nyanko isn't about to leave Natsume just yet.  
><strong>Prompt: <strong>35. Hold My Hand  
><strong>AN: ** has been, of late, making changes that I'm not sure if I can get used to. I'm a creature of habit; I find the new appearance/design of the site in particular is very jarring. I am considering moving some of my works to AO3, including this one, but...I haven't really decided on anything yet. I haven't been writing much, sadly enough.

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><p>"Natsume! <em>Natsume!<em>"

The shrill warning from Nyanko jolts the boy to his senses. How long has he been out? Natsume thinks dimly, trying to get to his feet. His head is pounding and his vision is blurry. He blinks rapidly, desperate to clear his vision, but if anything, it just seems to make it worse.

"Out of the way!" He hears a voice – not Nyanko now, but Madara; deep, throaty and ferocious, he assumes that Nyanko must have changed into his real form. There is a hideous snarl, and then silence.

It takes Natsume a heartbeat to realize that he can barely see anything by now, his field of vision a mere smear of grey that is rapidly fading to black.

"N-Nyanko-sensei?" He calls out. His voice wavers on the query, and with that, the last of his vision goes and his knees go weak, giving way under him as he lands on the forest floor in a most undignified manner. "Nyanko-sensei, I can't see anything."

"Tsk." There is a _whump _beside him. Something nudges him in the side and his hand touches a warm, furry and incredibly round object – this must be Nyanko, he thinks, suddenly comforted by the manekineko's presence. "That stupid ayakashi's poison must have gotten into your eyes. Really, Natsume, don't you think it's about time you stopped trying to dabble with matters that don't concern you? You're just causing more work for me, you know."

"How am I going to get home?" Natsume step-sides Nyanko's pointed remark, like he always does whenever the manekineko voices his disapproval about his involvement with the ayakashi. "I can't see. How long is it going to take for the poison to wear off?"

He really hopes that it isn't going to be permanent.

"It was a low-level weakling – it shouldn't take long," Nyanko says critically. "How dare they touch my prey! The next time I see them, I'm going to give them a whupping they'll never forget."

"Yes, yes," Natsume says wryly. "Before that, though, could you help me get home? I don't want to worry Tohko-san by arriving home late."

"Don't blame me if your blindness hasn't gone away by the time you get home," Nyanko grumbles. Natsume hears a little _pop _and knows that Nyanko has transformed, and this is confirmed when he hears Madara's deep voice next. "Get on my back – I'll fly you home."

"I can't go home on your back," Natsume says reasonably. "What if Tohko-san sees me flying through the air on nothing? She can't see you when you're in your true spirit form, right?"

There is a grumble from Madara at this, followed by another _pop. _Natsume is wondering just how Nyanko plans to guide him home in his manekineko form when a hand – an obviously warm, _human _hand – closes around his own, and he jumps.

"You don't have any complaints like this, do you?" Nyanko says. His voice is that of the girl he sometimes assumes human form of, Natsume realizes. The hand which is holding his seems familiar and safe, and this makes Natsume smile. "You'd better not let go of my hand. Honestly, you're such a troublesome human. I should just eat you now while I can and save myself the trouble of waiting for you to die."

Natsume is used to Nyanko's idle threats by now. If the ayakashi had harboured a malicious intent towards him, he doubts that he would have survived this long. If anything, if it hadn't been for Nyanko, he might not have gotten out of several very tight spots he'd managed to find himself in.

"Thanks, Nyanko-sensei."

"Hmph! I'll be expecting some extra sweet buns from Nanatsujiya tomorrow."

"Aren't you fat enough? You're not going to fit through my window if you keep eating like this, you know."

"What was that?! I'll have you know that my true self doesn't gain an _ounce _of fat no matter how many sweet buns I eat!"

"Yeah, but in your true form you can only manage to shove your nose through my window…"


	8. Steal my Sight

**Title:** Steal my Sight  
><strong>Rating:<strong> PG  
><strong>PairingCharacter/s: **Natsume, Matoba  
><strong>Summary: <strong>Matoba thinks it's a futile wish for the curse to be removed.  
><strong>Prompt: <strong>37. Eyes  
><strong>AN: **Redundant title is redundant. I wrote it without any intention of Natsume/Matoba but I guess you could read something into it, too. Actually the whole drabble is redundant. (I do not particularly ship Natsume/Matoba. I think Natsume is just fine where he is and I don't really ship him with anyone.)

Oh, and thank you to everyone who reviewed, even though my drabbles are kind of pointless and short and random. :)

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><p>"I would show you what's under this eye seal of mine," Matoba says, "but unfortunately I don't think it's a sight for one as…gentle…as you. It <em>is <em>horribly scarred after all."

His smile is humourless as he taps the seal covering his right eye with one finger.

"You said…that it was under a curse," Natsume says cautiously.

"I'm pleased you remembered that much," Matoba smiles. "This seal stops the demon from sensing my whereabouts, so as you can imagine, it's fairly imperative that I keep it on at all times unless I'm in a purified room."

"Haven't you ever tried to make amends with the demon?" Natsume wonders how resistant the seal is against water when Matoba is in the shower or bath. "Wouldn't that be a whole lot easier than going around trying to guard against it all the time?"

Matoba blinks – and then chuckles lightly.

"As usual, your naivety surprises me, Natsume," he leans closer to the boy, noting the clean, enticing scent that was uniquely Natsume. "Don't you think you would have learnt by now that there are spirits that you simply cannot negotiate with? Forget trying to befriend them. It's much easier to simply command them as their master."

"I think that's wrong," Natsume says stubbornly. Matoba notices with mild curiosity that the boy's golden eyes, while normally placid and kind, flares up with a fierce, determined light whenever he gets into the same argument with him, every time. Natsume has the most beautiful eyes he has seen, Matoba thinks, and this makes him envious. Thinking about his own scarred, disfigured right eye, his hand comes up to touch the protective seal over it.

The look in Natsume's eyes change from defensive to concern. "Does it…hurt?"

To show this much concern even for someone he wholly disagrees with…Natsume truly is a fascinating person.

Matoba _wants _him.


	9. New Year Day's postcards

**Title:** New Year Day's postcards  
><strong>Rating:<strong> G  
><strong>Characters: **Natsume, Touko-san, Nyanko  
><strong>Summary: <strong>Touko buys some New Year Day's postcards for Natsume.  
><strong>AN: **I feel like I need mention a couple of things. 1) I write these drabbles on a whim, which explains why each chapter does not flow well with the next. I welcome constructive criticism, not raging nonsense in the form of anonymous reviews. 2) I wanted to write something for New Year but I am late by a month and half, haha. Thank you for putting up with my incredibly slow writing.

* * *

><p>"Takashi-kun!"<p>

Touko-san's call floats up the stairs and Natsume looks up from his study books. When she slides open the _shoji_ to his room, he gives her a slightly hesitant smile, wondering why she has called out to him. Quickly, he runs through the events of the past few days through his mind, hoping that he has not accidentally left the milk out overnight, or-

"I just came back from groceries, and I bought-" she rummages around in her bag, and produces a pack which she hands to him, "-some New Year Day's postcards! I thought you might want some to send to your friends..."

Natsume is touched by her thoughtfulness, suddenly overwhelmed by the fact that she thought to buy him a pack while shopping for her own groceries. When he makes no move to take the postcards, she smiles at him just a little bit apologetically. "Ah... you don't want any, then?"

"No, I do want them," Natsume says quickly and reaches out for the postcards. "I'm sorry - it's just - "

_I didn't have anyone to send them to before._

Their fingers brush when he takes the postcards, and Touko-san smiles and pats him on his head. "Don't forget to post those before the postoffice stops taking them so they'll reach on the first of the New Year."

"I will." When Touko-san leaves his room, he looks at the pack, wondering who he could send a postcard to. Tanuma, Taki, Nishimura and Kitamoto? Ah, maybe Sasada as well... as he starts to lay out the postcards, he realizes that he has forgotten to include Natori-san in the list.

"What are you doing?" A familiar reedy voice comes from the direction of his window and he does not need to look to know that it is Nyanko-sensei.

"Touko-san bought me some New Year Day's postcards," Natsume flipped one of the cards over so Nyanko could waddle over and see the beautiful design printed on it. "I thought I would send them to some friends this coming New Year."

"Hmph," Nyanko plants a paw on one of the postcards. "Reiko never sent any of these, you know."

Natsume smiles gently. "I know."


	10. Autumnal Colours

**Title:** Autumnal colours  
><strong>Rating:<strong> G  
><strong>PairingCharacter/s:** Natsume Takashi  
><strong>Summary:<strong> Some youkai visit not to retrieve their names, but simply because they wish to have a conversation with Natsume himself.  
><strong>AN:** This series of drabbles originally started on this site but because I have been using tumblr for my writing for quite a while now, I decided to start shifting. This way, I will get to collate all my writing in one place. (I will probably still update this here, but Six Degrees will be only thing I will update.)

* * *

><p>"-tsume-dono? Natsume-dono!"<p>

Natsume jerks his gaze back to the little youkai sitting next to his study books on the table. "A-ah, sorry! I got distracted-"

"Do you wish to be outdoors?" The youkai asks politely. "If that is the case, I can leave early."

"No, no, it's fine," Natsume assures it and turns back to his books. "I was admiring the colours of autumn outside, that was all. And I still need to finish my revision anyway, so I can't go out even if I wanted to..." He sighs and lets his forehead smack gently against the surface of the table. He should not have left his revision this late, he thinks in between yawns, but he had not the heart to refuse a name-return request last night. He turns his head and gives the youkai a smile, albeit a slightly tired one. "I'm sorry I couldn't chat with you more, Sasagi-kun. You came all the way from the mountains, too."

"Do not worry about it, Natsume-dono." The youkai casts a look out the window, and gets to his feet. "If you will excuse me for a moment, I shall be back shortly..."

Natsume watches the youkai float out his window and vanish. His cheek still pressed against the table, he closes his eyes. Maybe he could take a quick ten-minute nap, he thinks drowsily, and then resume his studies...

He does not know when or how long he was asleep for, but he is dragged from his nap when he hears the shutters on his window rattle slightly. Stifling a yawn, he blinks his eyes sleepily-

"Happy autumn, Natsume-dono!"

A cascade of autumn red and gold leaves shower down upon him; he sits up with a jerk, fully awake by now. "W-what's going on?" He stammers. When he reaches up to touch his hair, he plucks out several leaves - and are those acorns around his feet?

"I thought if Natsume-dono could not go out to enjoy autumn, then I would bring autumn to you," Sasagi explains. "I went to gather as many leaves and acorns as I could..." He gives Natsume a slightly anxious glance. "Is it autumnal enough for you?"

Natsume notices that the youkai, too, has leaves stuck in his hair, and he tries not to chuckle. Gently, he reaches out and brushes the youkai's hair clean with one finger.

"Thank you, Sasagi-kun." He smiles. "It feels like it's autumn right here in my room."


	11. Confrontation

**Title:** Confrontation  
><strong>Rating:<strong> PG  
><strong>PairingCharacter/s:** Natori Shuuichi, Matoba Seiji  
><strong>Summary:<strong> Natori does not like it when Matoba sends his _shiki_ to tail Natsume, and decides to confront him directly.  
><strong>AN:** What is plural of shiki? I honestly had no idea so I kept 'shiki' as both singular/plural forms. Also, I think I would like to delve deeper into Natori's past, assuming the manga hasn't covered it already (I am a few volumes behind).

—

"Natori."

Matoba enters the room, bringing with him a cool formality and his _shiki_, flanking him on either side. Natori inclines his head to acknowledge him, but does not rise from his seat.

"To what pleasure do I owe for your visit today?" Matoba enquires in a pleasant tone of voice as he seats himself opposite Natori. "It is such a rare sight to see you around these parts."

"You know full well why I'm here today." Natori levels a stare at Matoba, who brushes it aside by sliding his gaze away. "You wouldn't answer my calls so I had to come in person."

"As head of my clan, I am a fairly busy man, as you should know," Matoba deflects the brunt of Natori's anger by offering him a polite smile. "And as an exceedingly popular actor, you must be equally busy. It is not surprising we were unable to catch each other at an opportune moment."

If Natori is rankled by the fact that Matoba attributes his busyness to his acting jobs rather than as a fellow exorcist, he does little more than bring his eyebrows together in a tiny frown. He is used to people in this line of work looking down upon his dual life, and Matoba Seiji's disdain does not perturb him in the slightest.

"Now that I've finally managed to pin you down, then, shall we get down to the matter at hand?" The more irritated Natori becomes, the milder his voice is. Even Matoba knows not to needlessly rile the other man when he is in this state. "I noticed that you sent your _shiki_after Natsume again."

"That boy?" Matoba muses. He knows full well what Natori is talking about. "Ah, the one with a refreshing gaze. I assure you I meant no harm."

"Natsume doesn't belong in our line of work. I'd like to keep it that way."

"Why? He would make a powerful exorcist given the right training - a valuable ally indeed." The look of contemplation on Matoba's face sends shivers down Natori's spine. "Why should we pass up the chance to utilise such strength? Natori, you should know how exorcists are few and far between, let alone one of his caliber. If I could just—"

"No." Now, Natori's voice is anything but mild. "If I find you dogging him again, I'll have to take matters into my own hands."

"Is that a threat?" Matoba's expression never changes, but both his loyal _shiki_ jump up at once, clawed hands reaching for Natori menacingly. Hiiragi appears by Natori's side in a gentle puff of air and lays her hand on her sword in a silent gesture, and everyone in the room freezes.

"You're very persistent," Matoba says after a long and tense moment. "I suppose I'll have to concede ground… this time."

"I'd appreciate that." Natori touches Hiiragi's arm and she steps back, although her stance remains wary. "Now, if you'll excuse me—"

"Wait." Matoba's languid voice stops him. "Tell me one thing before you leave. Why do you care for this boy so much? Do you intend on recruiting him for yourself - to induct him into your clan and thwart my own plans to claim his skills for mine?"

"As you said, I'm a busy man; I have no time to plot how to thwart your plans." Natori smiles wryly. "I watch out for Natsume because he's my friend - something, I think, that would be a difficult concept for you to grasp."

Matoba continues gazing thoughtfully long after Natori has left.

"Friend?" He laughs quietly under his breath. "How sentimental you have become, Natori."


	12. Story Book

**Title:** Story Book  
><strong>Rating:<strong> G  
><strong>Characters:** Natsume Takashi, Tanuma Kaname, Kitamoto Atsushi, Nishimura Satoru, Nyanko!  
><strong>Summary:<strong> "I hear that he spent the nights drawing stories in a book so that he could give it to me by the time he came home." They find one of the few presents Natsume has left, from his father.  
><strong>AN:** Actually! I think it's said that his parents passed away due to a car accident? But going by the anime, I felt that the way they portrayed it, Natsume's mother passed on first, and then his father - I can't remember the exact scene now though, so I fudged it.

—

"What's this?"

The laughter dies abruptly in Natsume's throat when he recognizes the light blue cover of the book, and the thin, neat strokes of the writing that adorn the top half like a title. When the others had proposed to dig through his box of personal belongings - with his permission, of course - he had not expected them to find that book.

"Natsume, it's got your name on it." Nishimura picks it up and scrutinizes it closely. "And some kind of title…"

"A-ah, it's something I got from my father, when he was in the hospital before," Natsume keeps his hands to himself, linking his fingers to stop himself from snatching away the book out of reflex. "He came down with an infection or other, and he had to stay hospitalized for about a week. I hear that he spent the nights drawing stories in a book so that he could give it to me by the time he came home."

"Your dad sounds amazing," Kitamoto comments. Everyone leans in to get a better look when Nishimura flips the first few pages open. The drawings are a little sketchy in pencil, but the colour that fills the pages bring the sketches to life. "Whoa, he was a pretty good artist, too. He draws better than most of the people I know in the artist club."

"Do you really think so?" Natsume smiles a little at the praise, even though the compliment is not for him directly. "I think he would have liked to hear that."

"So, what's the story about?" Tanuma asks. In his lap, Nyanko stirs briefly - one ear pops up as if he is keen to hear the tale, too - but other than that, he shows no sign of showing the slightest hint of interest.

This time, Natsume does take the book from Nishimura, but he does not close the cover, or hide it from their view. "Hmm, I didn't really understand it when I was younger, but I think he was trying to show me that he had his own adventures in the hospital when he was there. See this?" He points to the first page. "He had a really scary head nurse who could shut anyone up with one look. I think she was pretty strict, but she took good care of everyone in her ward."

"Head nurses have to be pretty firm though, don't they?" Kitamoto wonders. "I mean, I can't imagine it'd be easy taking care of patients all the time, and sometimes when you get really loud visitors you need to be strict and tell them off, too."

"I know what you mean! I got told off once, myself," Nishimura adds sheepishly. "The nurse scared me so much I didn't go back to visit for days!"

"That was because you got too excited talking about your favourite baseball team!"

"What? Why didn't you stop me then?!"

Natsume laughs - and hastily dodges when Nishimura launches a wad of paper at him. "Well, looks like baseball was a good topic. One of the patients who was roomed with my father was an avid baseball fan, so they were watching it on TV all day long."

He works his way through the book, explaining each page and feeling as if he, like his friends, is seeing this for the first time. When was the last time he had opened this book, this personal story that his father had created just for him? He runs the tip of his finger over the drawings done in colour pencil. They are smooth and the colour unfaded, despite the years that had passed since then. The tale continued from the baseball-loving roommate to describe how the hospital food was surprisingly delicious - the illustrations of curry rice and daikon soup proved enough to draw proclamations of hunger from the boys.

When he turns to the last page and sees the jagged line of a torn-out page, he falls silent.

"Looks like someone tore out the last page," Nishimura remarks, completely missing the warning glance from both Kitamoto and Tanuma. "And it's all smudged through on the previous page, as if someone… oh." He jerks upright when Kitamoto elbows him in the side. "Sorry! I didn't mean to pry."

"That's quite all right." This time, Natsume does close the book properly. "Maybe the book got damaged when I was moving around as a kid, I don't really remember."

"It's difficult trying to recall memories during your childhood, isn't it? It just kind of blends in all together." Tanuma knows not to push the issue - all three of them do. Instead, they change the conversation to something a little more mundane. Difficult subjects at school, club activities, and chatter about the upcoming school festival. No one tries to press Natsume into talking about something he isn't entirely comfortable with, and for that, he is grateful for their understanding.

When Kitamoto's cellphone rings and he looks at the display, he sits up abruptly and exclaims, "Oh man! Is it this late already? I'm really sorry, but I have to go."

"Something on?" Tanuma asks, and Kitamoto grins sheepishly.

"Yeah, my parents asked me to get something for them on my way home, and if I don't get going, the store's going to close!"

"Ah, I'll walk home with you!" Nishimura chimes in. "Since we're going in the same direction and all."

"Looks like we're disbanding for now then." Tanuma, too, gets to his feet and dislodges a grumpy Ponta, who tucks his paws right underneath him and refuses to budge from the spot. "Thanks for having us over, Natsume."

"Oh no, I should be the one thanking you for coming over." The pleasure from having company around is already fading as everyone collects their coats and bags. "I'll see you guys in school tomorrow, then."

"Don't forget to do your homework!"

"And study for the quiz tomorrow!"

"Quiz?! There's a quiz tomorrow? Kitamoto, why didn't you tell me?!"

"What? Didn't you get my memo on that?"

Both Natsume and Tanuma suppress a burst of laughter at Nishimura's anguished wail. "Do you want my study notes?" Natsume offers.

"No!" Nishimura brings his arms up in a vehement 'X' gesture, frowning at Natsume. "Use them to study and score well! I'll take Kitamoto's notes instead!"

"H-hey! What about me? I need to study too!"

Natsume starts to clear the table when they have all gone, gathering up the empty glasses and the opened snack wrappers left in one neat stack - one of them must have tidied them up before leaving. His gaze falls on the wad of paper that Nishimura had thrown at him earlier.

"That last page, what was on it?"

Nyanko's voice comes from behind him. Natsume picks up the wad of paper and tries to smooth it out on the table. His hand brushes across the brightly-coloured drawing on the page - only this time, the sketch is blotched and ruined by water.

"It was him coming home," Natsume takes a deep breath before answering. "His last day in the hospital, just before he was discharged… and then he got into an accident on the way home. When I got this sketch book… after the accident… I was so angry he wasn't there to give it to me himself. I must have torn out the last page and just thrown it into my box along with everything else."

Nyanko gets to his feet, and shuffles over to Natsume's side to peer at the torn-off page. "It looks just like you. And you… look a lot like him."

The laugh that slips out of Natsume is one of subdued delight. "Most people think I take after my mother. You're the first who told me I looked like my father at all."

"Is that a bad thing?"

Natsume picks up the now-wrinkled sketch of his much younger self, beaming happily upon finding out his father had been discharged from the hospital. A sketch of something that would never come to pass.

"No… I think it makes me happy to hear that."


End file.
